Bend
Radius: The smallest practical radius that an optic fiber or cable can be bent
prior to reaching an excessive level of attenuation.

Bidirectional: A fiber cable operating in both transmitting and receiving
directions

Buffer:
Any material that is used as a protective coating for a fiber optic cable.

C

C:
Celsius or Centigrade. Used in manufacturers’ specifications for proper use and
maintenance of a cabling environment.

Cable :
A structure in which one or more fibers or wires is enclosed, typically with
reinforcement and in a protective jacket.

Cable
Assembly: A fiber optic cable that is terminated on both ends with any one of a
number of optical connectors.

Cable
Plant: All of the networking components that are used between the transmitter
and the receiver of an optical system.

Chromatic Dispersion: A loss of bandwidth in a fiber optic cable that is caused
by various wavelengths of light traveling at multiple speeds through the cable.

Cladding: The specialized material that coats the core optical material in a
fiber. Cladding features a lower refraction index than the core optical
material which causes the light signal to reflect inward and travel back into
the core.

Cleaving: A special process by which an optical fiber is scored to produce a
controlled breaking of the fiber which results in a flat and clean end that is
close to perpendicular to the fiber axis.

CWDM:
Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing. This is the process of piling 8 or
less channels within the 1550 nm sector of an optical fiber.

Coating: The various materiala that surround the cladding of an optical fiber
to protect it from environmental damage.

Concatenation: The process of linking multiple pieces of optical fiber.

Concentricity: The measured offset between the center of the optical fiber core
and the center of its cladding in a fiber optic cable. Or the measured offset
between the center of the connector’s ferrule and the center of the connector’s
hole in the ferrule.

Connector: A physical device that offers the connection and/or disconnection
between two fibers or of the fiber and the source or detector).

Core:
The inner section of an optical fiber that transmits the light signal.

Coupler: An optical component that either combines or splits a signal between
optical fibers.

Detector: An optoelectric component that converts an optical signal into
electrical current.

Diameter
mismatch loss: Attenuation caused by splicing two different diameter optical
fiber cores. Loss is caused when a light signal is transmitted from the larger
core into the smaller core.

Dielectric: A substance which does not conduct or transmit electrical current.

Dispersion: The spacing out of a light signal in an optical fiber that is
caused by various speed light signals traveling through the fiber. This is
typically caused by either modal or chromatic effects in the fiber.

DSF:
Dispersion Shifted Fiber. This is a specific type of singlemode fiber that is
designed to have near zero dispersion at 1550 nm.

Dual
Window Fiber: This is special fiber that has been optimized to run more than
one wavelength.

Duplex
Cable: This is a cable that has been manufactured with two fibers that
typically allows a fiber optic system to both transmit/receive optical signals.

Microbend: This refers to the mechanical stress placed on a fiber optic strand
that causes signal loss.

Minimum
Bend Radius: This refers to the smallest radius that an optical cable can be
bent orior to causing an increase in attenuation.

MM:
Multimode. A type of fiber optic cable which allows multiple signal waves to
travel on it simultaneously.

Mode:
The ability of an electromagnetic wave or signal to travel in a fiber.

Mode
Field Diameter: This is the measurement of the distribution of optical signal
strength in a singlemode fiber.

Mode
Filter: This is a device that eliminates higher-order modes from a fiber optic
cable.

Mode
Stripper: This is a specialized component that eliminates modes traveling in
the cladding.

Multimode (MM) Fiber: This is an optical fiber that allows more than one signal
to be transmitted simultaneously.

N

Numerical Aperture: This refers to the light-gathering ability of a fiber optic
strand and reflects the largest angle of acceptance as measured against the
fiber axis. It may also refer to the spread of the light signal from the end of
a fiber strand.

O

O/E:
Optical to Electrical Converter. This is a component that is used to convert
optical signals to electrical signals.

Optical
Fiber: A glass or plastic fiber that has the ability to act as a waveguide for
light for the transmission of data.

Optical
Power Meter: This is an instrument that is used to measure the optical signal
strength at the end of a fiber optic cable.

Optical
Return Loss: This is the calculation of the ratio of optical power reflected
from a device back to the light source and is usually expressed in decibels.

Optical
Time Domain Reflectometer: This is a specialized instrument that is used to
measure both the loss and the reflections that occur in a fiber link.

P

PC:
This is a type of connector polish that allows fiber optic strand ends to
contact the connector while reducing back reflection and insertion loss.

Pigtail: A length of fiber optic cabling with a connector on only one end.

Planar
Waveguide: This refers to a waveguide that is made with a dielectric material.

PLC:
Planar Lightwave Circuit. This is a device that incorporates a planar
waveguide.

Plenum
Cable (UL type OFNP): This is a specially jacketed cable whose smoke and
flammability characteristics meet building code requirements thereby allowing it
to be run in areas where a fire hazard may exist.

PON:
Passive Optical Network. This refers to a network that features fiber optic
cabling in either all or most of the network servicing the end user.

Preform: A manufacturer’s glass rod that has specific attributes so that
optical fiber strands may be drawn from it.

R

Radiation-hardened Fiber: This refers to a specialized type of fiber optic
cablethat can recover most of performance capabilities after exposure to
radiation.

Rayleigh
Scattering: This refers to the scattering of light that is caused by small
imperfections along the length of the fiber optic strands.

Receiver: This is a device that contains a detector and converts light signals
to electrical signals.

Ribbon
Cable: This is a specially manufactured cable in which multiple fibers are
manufactured in a flat ribbon-like cable construction.

S

SAN
(Storage Area Network): This refers to one or more shared storage devices that
are networked so that the storage device(s) is available to all servers on a WAN
or LAN.

Sheath:
This refers to the jacket or outer protective layer of the fiber optic patch
cable.

Si:
Silicon, a material used in certain multimode detectors.

Simplex: Single.

Singlemode: This refers to the type of optical fiber which only supports a
single lightwave propagating through it.

SMA: An
optical fiber connector component.that is mostly obsolete in modern networks.

Splice:
This refers to the joining of two optical fibers for the purposes of providing a
continuous waveguide for a fiber optic signal.

Split
Ratio: This number specifies the actual calculation of power distribution
within an optical coupler.

ST: A
type of fiber optical cable connector.

Step-index Fiber: This refers to a specific type of optical fiber which offers
a consistent refractive index in the actual core of the fiber while also
offering a significant decrease in refractive index in the cladding of the
strand.

Strength
Member: This is a physical element that is incorporated into a fiber optic
cable structure to add tensile strength.

T

Throughput Loss: The comparison of signal strength at the output port of a
fiber optic coupler versus the power measured at the input port.

Throughput Port: The out put port in a fiber optic coupler..

Tight
Buffer: The specialized material that surrounds and protects the optical fiber
strand(s) in a fiber optic cable.

Total
Internal Reflection: The phenomenon that occurs when the lightwave in an
optical fiber core strikes the cladding at a larger angle than the critical
angle specification.

WAN:
Wide Area Network. This refers to a data communications network that
encompasses a broad geographic area.

Waveguide: This is a dielectric material in which the optical structure has an
inner core with a higher index of refraction than the outer section, thereby
guiding lightwaves through the inner core via the principle of total internal
reflection.

Wavelength Division Multiplexing: This communications technique allows for the
utilization of a single optical fiber strand to send several signals through the
strand with each signal operating at different wavelengths.

Wideband: The quality of a device or network having a large bandwidth.

Z

Zipcord:
This refers to a situation in which two cables connected by their outer
protective jackets so that they may be quickly and easily separated along part
or all of their lengths by simply physically pulling them apart.